4 Essential Strategies for Teaching Neurodivergent Students
By Brian Coonley,
If you’re a teacher, you’ve probably noticed that your classrooms are becoming more diverse—not just in student backgrounds and experiences, but in the ways students think, learn, and interact with the world. Data shows that, more and more, educators are recognizing the presence of neurodivergent learners in their classrooms and seeking strategies to support them effectively. That’s exactly why I sat down to write this blog.
The term “neurodiversity” was coined in the late 1990s by sociologist (and daughter of an Auschwitz survivor) Judy Singer. At its core, neurodiversity challenges the idea that there is one “right” way of thinking, learning, or behaving. Instead, it understands that brain differences—like those seen in autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other neurodivergent profiles—are natural variations, not deficits, disorders, or impairments. It recognizes that people experience and interact with the world in different ways.
When educators embrace this mindset, they open the door to more inclusive, responsive teaching that helps all students thrive.
So, what does that look like in practice? One of the most popular topics for training and coaching at the Center for Professional Learning relates to how schools can better serve neurodivergent populations. If you’re looking to support your neurodivergent students in participating actively in their learning, these are some of the top items to think about.
1. Get to Know Your Students
Of course, it’s always good to know who’s in your classroom, and this is never truer than for neurodivergent students. When we say know your students, we don’t just mean academically; learn about their passions, interests, and what excites them in order to build a strong relationship that will serve both you and them during your time together and beyond. A student that knows and trusts their teacher is a student who is more likely to find success in your classroom. In addition, as you get to know your students personally, you’ll also get to know how they learn best. That, in turn, will provide avenues for you to personalize curriculum and teach to their specific needs.
2. Be Willing to Adapt and Customize Teaching
No two students are the same, so why teach them the same way? Differentiation, or adapting and modifying aspects of your teaching and/or classroom to meet students where they are in their learning, is an essential tool for engaging your neurodivergent students and setting them up for success.
When supporting educators with a neurodiverse group of students, I always start with two foundational ideas: Howard Gardner’s “Multiple Intelligences” and “Universal Design for Learning.” While I could spend hours (and often do in Gateways’ extended trainings) diving into this topic, I’ll stick to the short version here: If, when planning, you spend the time considering how different people learn and think (multiple intelligences), you can and will create fun, interactive and customized lessons (universal design for learning).
If you’re an educator with neurodivergent students, consider how to customize your classroom to support their unique needs. In practice, this might mean incorporating movement-based activities for kinesthetic learners, visual supports for those who process information best through images, or opportunities for students to demonstrate knowledge, in different ways. The more entry points we provide, the more students we reach.
3. Build on Their Strengths
It’s easy to focus on the challenges that can come with teaching neurodivergent student—they may struggle with “traditional” learning expectations like sitting still or maintaining focus on verbal language—but shifting the focus to their strengths can be a game-changer. As Jewish educators, we already embrace the idea that each child has areas where they shine (chanoch l’naar al pi darko—“Educate a child according to their way” from Proverbs 22:6). Our role is to uncover those gifts and use them to build meaningful, engaging learning experiences.
If a student is a strong artist, incorporate more visual or hands-on elements into their learning. Instead of writing a response, they might show their understanding through drawings, comics, or multimedia projects. For students who excel at building or designing, integrate more opportunities for constructing models, using manipulatives, or doing role-playing activities. Be creative!
By recognizing and incorporating students’ strengths, we shift from a deficit-based approach—focusing on what they can’t do—to an asset-based one that celebrates what they can do. Not only does this improve a student’s buy-in and confidence, but it also fosters a more inclusive classroom environment where all students feel valued for their contributions.
4. Don’t Be Afraid to Try Something New
When it comes to supporting neurodivergent students, it can be hard to know where to start. I’ll never forget a conversation with a new educator at a local temple who was feeling overwhelmed with this exact challenge. In just three minutes, we brainstormed two simple strategies: using a wall timer and posting a daily schedule. These small changes created predictability and structure, helping his students feel more comfortable and regulated.
Seeing the impact of these minor changes gave him the confidence to try more. He began making bigger adjustments, changing seating arrangements and experimenting with flexible workspaces. Soon, his neurodivergent students were more successful and engaged in the class. The key was that he didn’t wait for a perfect solution; he started somewhere and adapted along the way.
As educators, we sometimes hesitate to try new approaches, fearing they won’t work or that they’ll disrupt the classroom. But the truth is, every group of students is different, and flexibility is one of the most powerful tools we have. Not everything will be a perfect fit, and that’s okay! What matters is a willingness to observe, adjust, and respond. So, if you’ve been considering trying something new — go for it! You might be surprised at the results.
These four strategies provide a strong starting point for creating a more inclusive classroom environment where all your learners feel empowered. If you’d like to take the next steps in your classroom inclusion journey, you can learn more about Gateways’ professional learning offerings here or send us an email at cplinfo@jgateways.org.
Before joining the team at Gateways, Brian Coonley spent 5 years working at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, where he led the state’s significant disproportionality in special education initiative and guided the work of other equity in special education projects. He also provided training and supports to teachers, students, school leaders and families across the state. Prior to working for the state, Brian taught 4th grade, 7th grade world geography, and high school special education. He holds a B.S. in Inclusive Elementary and Special Education and Political Science from Syracuse University and a M.Ed. in Secondary Education from Vanderbilt University. Brian lives in Waltham with his wife, Francine, two daughters, and his in-laws. When not spending time with family or listening to records, Brian is involved with the Boston Jewish community. He volunteers at CJP, served on the board for JBBBS Yom Sport and is co-chair for ADL New England’s associate board. Brian also loves spending time outdoors and anything to do with Philadelphia or Syracuse sports.
From Rabbi Michael Levy: Thank you for your recent JDIN offering,
4 Essential Strategies for Teaching Neurodivergent Students
It could not come at a better time of the Jewish calendar.
Long before professionals and inclusion experts roamed the earth, a group of sages speculated about the most important single child-centered event of the Jewish year: the Passover Seder.
What are the four sons featured in the Haggadah if not children who approach the world of learning in different ways.
The wise son wants to know everything. Downside
does he crowd out others? Does he say, “my way or the highway?”
The poor wicked son
Could his supposed “wickedness” come from a sense of discomfort?
. What at the seder is making him uncomfortable?
Maybe he has a metabolic “divergence.” He needs to use the bathroom but has been told in no uncertain terms that NOBODY leaves the seder table. This is, BTW, against Jewish law.
Maybe his neuro-divergence is more manageable when he is home. The seder happens to be outside the home. Nobody took his needs into account—not out of malice, but for lack of education.
At the seder table
Are there looks and glances that make HIS STYLE OF LEARNING appear inferior?
The shame of being dissed can last a lifetime and propel a child far from the Jewish orbit.
Sometimes he succumbs to the blandishments of hip neuro-divergent Christian ministries.
The naive son: I happen to like him the best.
He says, “What’s going on?”
Could his statement mean, “My brain can’t handle all these stimuli. There’s too much text on the page for me to manage. I wish that I could use ALL my senses and not be forced to rely solely on the visual. Why do THEY insist on reading ALL the text, and mumbling through the songs that make me the happiest?
The child who does not know how to ask
Why doesn’t he know how to ask?
Perhaps it’s because (and this is a personal bias,) the “experts” have been TELLING HIM. They HAVE THE STRATEGIES. They ADVISE THE PARENTS. They ASSUME THAT HE NEEDS CERTAINTY AND GUIDANCE AT ALL TIMES.
If they would just stop shepherding him for a moment, maybe aspects of himself that he didn’t know about would emerge.
You open for him—ott ptach lo---
Give him an opening where he can just BE, like the nondisabled experience routinely.
These four “sons” exist within all of us, and can change even from moment to moment.
A lucky open-minded caring parent intuits this and educates his/her child “al pi darko”—according to the “derech” on which the child happens to be at the moment.
My dad would yell at me, realize that he had overdone it, and come back being Mister Funny Man, which was his way of saying “we’re still friends, right?”
The Carrot and the Stick—the Stick First
If I speak here with harshness, I am speaking not for myself, but for the thousands of Jews with disabilities who do not realize that they have their own voice and that they have a right (as created in the Divine image behind that oice) to express it.
I respect your experience and you have more on-the-ground knowledge of disability than I may have.
Your use of the word “essential” has an unintended effect. Its subliminal message is that if one does not use this “essential” strategy, there will be some kind of irreparable damage.
Whites do not tell non-whites what is essential for them.
Men do not tell women what is essential for them.
We who have disabilities are a minority. The nondisabled majority have no right to tell us what strategies are essential for us.
Various well-meaning counselors and relatives tried that “essential” approach with my parents. My parents listened, analyzed, sifted, and most often used what THEY considered was essential. If you yourself are a parent, you are aware that there is a sacred space between parent and child that should be free from “essentializers.”
Write “helpful.” Write “valuable.”
You can’t write “evidence-based” or “proven” because the strategies aren’t.
Did you ever consider that the same strategy that helps one neuro-divergee may harm another? Some thrive on colors. Some overload on colors.
What is our goal as the guardians of the body and soul of a child?
Is it to enable him to “be himself” “bechol yom bechol ait uvchol sha-ah?” To make HIM the center? To give others around him the impression that his NEEDS ALWAYS COME FIRST?
That kind of child at age 18 will be ill-prepared for the transition to a meaningful career and a genuine marriage relationship.
Challenge To Gateways
Conduct an evidence-based longitudinal study.
Where do these neuro-divergent beings end up at age 30? At age 50? In old age, when they face end-of-life challenges?
Is Gateways brave enough to conduct such a study and act according to its results?
It is a core value of Yad Hachazakah that the non-disabled world should avoid labeling whenever possible.
Certain labels are medically essential.
Neuro-divergent is NOT one of them.
I am blind. I am neurodivergent. If the neurodivergenters really valued me, they would provide their own material in a format that is accessible to me.
Solutions exist.
Some involve emerging avatars and other technologies.
, others are as simple as already existing telephony.
Where’s the Money?
Impose a voluntary accessibility tax of $5 on memberships and affiliations. Develop a legacy fund to be administered by qualified open-minded individuals who can balance their personal fiefs and agendas against the needs of the Klal.
When neuro-divergers conduct sensitivity sessions, eager participants emerge-- walking around you with too much delicacy.
It is important that the world respect our choice of how we identify ourselves.
It is crucial that the neuro-divergers get the inside story about disability from those of us who have lived it 24 hours a day.
Seventy-two years ago, my far-seeing parents decided to treat me just like my brother, and later my sister, to the greatest extent possible. My chores and rewards were commensurate with theirs. I took sides, usually with my sister against my brother. We fought. We made up. We held grudges. Most of all, we hid things from our parents. They never knew how that tomato juice stain ended up near the ceiling.
Through my parents, I have been blessed beyond measure with a career, and most of all with wonderful children.
Who knows twelve? I know twelve. I have twelve grandchildren, all of whom figure out with me how to relate to my blindness, or not.
If any of the above seems harsh, there is underlying love. Why shouldn’t all children have a chance to develop as they need to develop, learn as they need to learn, be joyful and sad as they need to be joyful and sad, but in a world that isn’t built with them at the center?
Will JDIN post MY VOICE for me because the mechanism to do so is inaccessible?
“All who are hungry, let them come and eat. All who are needy, let them come and celebrate Passover in THEIR WAY, with what The Almighty has given them.
After Passover is the time to change.
I look forward to a 5786 when Gateways b=blends its initiatives with the knowledge and experience that we who have disabilities are ready to share.
Beautifully written article in which a practical plan is laid out. I saw in my own work as a counselor the need for this type
Of thinking. Well done!